Rishworth History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The history of the Rishworth family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in Norfolk, in the parish of Rushworth, from whence their name is derived.

Early Origins of the Rishworth family

The surname Rishworth was first found in Norfolk where they held a family seat at Ruscuuorda noted in the Domesday Book taken in 1086 by William, Duke of Normandy, as a manse and farm having 52 goats for tax purposes. John, nephew of Waleran, the great Baron of Essex, was the under-tenant holding from the Abbot of Ely, the chief tenant. It was Norman practice for the sons or nephews of Barons to name themselves after their holdings to distinguish themselves from the main line of the family. Hence, John de Rushworth or Rushford.

Early History of the Rishworth family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rishworth research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1276, 1368, 1612, 1637, 1666, 1669, 1690 and 1736 are included under the topic Early Rishworth History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rishworth Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Rushworth, Ryshworth, Rishworth, Rushford, Rishford and many more.

Early Notables of the Rishworth family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William Rushworth or Richworth (died 1637), English Catholic controversialist, a native of Lincolnshire, and received his education in the English College at Douay, where he went by the name of Charles Ross. "He was a man curious in divinity, controversies, mathematicks, and physick, but chiefly delighted in mathematics, and, by the name of Robinson, entertained correspondence with the learned Oughtred." (NBbio)John Rushworth (c.1612-1690), was the famous English historian who after studying at Oxford settled in London as a barrister. He represented Berwick in the House of...
Another 94 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rishworth Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rishworth migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Rishworth or a variant listed above were:

Rishworth Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Rishworth who was recorded as having arrived in New England in 1634
Edward Rishworth, who landed in New England in 1643 1

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)